The New NHL
Well, it appears that my predictions were wrong (see Finals Fun and Game Seven). Carolina managed to hold on and win the cup. Kind of funny that a team that wouldn't have made it out of the first round had they not taken out the best player on the other team with an uncalled penalty. Come to think of it, a similar thing happened in round two. And to think about it a little more, didn't Carolina crashing the net (as they have done all play-offs without being called) took Edmonton's number one goalie out of the series - and won the first game for Carolina.
In any regard, the first full season of the "new" NHL is now in the books. As a life long hockey fan, I have to be honest and say that the changes that the league has made to make the game more exciting for the non-traditional American auidence has really ruined the game. And the officiating is the orst that I have seen in years. I found it somewhat funny that on NBC, the American broadcast of the game, the showed the last penalty that was called on Edmonton during the first period. Then they showed three hits where gloves, sticks, and elbows were up that Carolina made - none of which got called. I'm normally not a conspiracy kind of guy, but watching both the semi-finals in the west and the finals, it really seemed like the referees were trying to decide games to ensure an all-American final and then, when that didn't work, an Amercian cup winner.
Needless to say the best hockey I saw all year long was while I was back in Canada collecting data for my dissertation and was able to watch the entire Memorial Cup (Canadian junior hockey). At least the league hasn't been able to get its flithy hands on that and ruin it in the name of appeasing an American audience who would rather watch grass grow than hockey (I mean the finals games on NBC for the Saturday games were the least watched programs on any of the networks).
In the future, I think I'll stick to junior, minor league, and youth hockey - because the NHL is no longer the game it once was.
Tags: hockey, Stanley Cup, NHL
In any regard, the first full season of the "new" NHL is now in the books. As a life long hockey fan, I have to be honest and say that the changes that the league has made to make the game more exciting for the non-traditional American auidence has really ruined the game. And the officiating is the orst that I have seen in years. I found it somewhat funny that on NBC, the American broadcast of the game, the showed the last penalty that was called on Edmonton during the first period. Then they showed three hits where gloves, sticks, and elbows were up that Carolina made - none of which got called. I'm normally not a conspiracy kind of guy, but watching both the semi-finals in the west and the finals, it really seemed like the referees were trying to decide games to ensure an all-American final and then, when that didn't work, an Amercian cup winner.
Needless to say the best hockey I saw all year long was while I was back in Canada collecting data for my dissertation and was able to watch the entire Memorial Cup (Canadian junior hockey). At least the league hasn't been able to get its flithy hands on that and ruin it in the name of appeasing an American audience who would rather watch grass grow than hockey (I mean the finals games on NBC for the Saturday games were the least watched programs on any of the networks).
In the future, I think I'll stick to junior, minor league, and youth hockey - because the NHL is no longer the game it once was.
Tags: hockey, Stanley Cup, NHL
posted by MKB | 11:04 PM
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